Serial predator Larry Nassar is headed to prison for the rest of his life, a fate he richly deserves. The Michigan State University doctor sexually abused scores of female gymnasts and other athletes under the guise of medical care.

End of story? Not even close. The fallout from his case is spreading like a mushroom cloud. MSU’s athletic director resigned on Friday. Earlier in the week, MSU President Lou Anna Simon stepped down for mishandling the scandal. The chairman and several board members of USA Gymnastics, the sport’s governing body, also have resigned. USA Gymnastics said on Friday that the remaining board members also will resign. That move came under pressure from the United States Olympic Committee.

The political and legal heat is building. Among those investigating: the NCAA, the U.S. Department of Education and Michigan’s attorney general. The speaker of Michigan’s House wants the resignations of MSU’s trustees, who are elected, not appointed. And U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., seeks congressional hearings “in order to make systemic changes in the way these cases are handled.”

But we hope this mega-#MeToo moment provides more than headlines for politicians and paydays for lawyers. These investigations and hearings should focus on the army of Nassar’s enablers — and how to stop the next serial abuser. Wittingly or no, that army shielded Nassar for years. Finally, one courageous former gymnast, Rachael Denhollander, filed a criminal complaint. Eventually the world learned not only of Nassar, but of his enablers.

They’re human beings. Yes, as a society we design systems and protocols to protect children — at home, at school and beyond. Whatever else comes from this scandal, all of us should demand better, stronger protocols to protect young people.

But changing rules, procedures, processes, isn’t enough. Because “the system” isn’t just, or even primarily, best practices. The system works or fails because the authorities within it either meet their responsibilities or, as in this case, don’t.

Who were Nassar’s enablers?

People who received reports of abuse committed by Nassar, a widely respected doctor, and did not energetically react.

People, including some parents, who wish they had pursued the claims of youngsters or were too quick to accept Nassar’s reassurance that he’d done nothing wrong.

People in powerful positions at MSU and athletic organizations who blithely delegated oversight to their subordinates without routinely enforcing accountability.

People who worked with young athletes and heard their reports but warned that they could be endangering their careers if they persisted.

So before a cluster of investigations leads to a pile of reports, let’s focus on what really has to happen here.

Institutions are defined by their people, not their systems. Institutions are only as good as the way their people execute. And institutions can improve — provided they help their people adapt, learn, improve.

This may seem an odd place to mention the Archdiocese of Chicago, with its dismal record in earlier decades of ignoring or brushing off child sexual abuse by clergy members. But here’s the point: A new generation of archdiocesan officials changed protocols, yes. But they also mandated training, and tighter reporting responsibilities, for everyone who has contact with young people. The result is a culture of vigilance in which even suspicions of misconduct demand a chain of responses. The humans are still imperfect — but none of them wants to be the educator, coach or activities leader who hears something yet says nothing.

No matter where all of us live and work, each of us who comes in contact with children during the day — at every school, every gym, every scout troop, every chess club — should ask: Do we have a culture of vigilance? Does every adult, every supervisor, know that it is his or her responsibility — his or her overwhelming duty — to swiftly report suspicions and follow up? Does every higher-up who receives an abuse report take prompt, aggressive action to learn if a claim is founded or not?

Those who fail in that duty deserve the same grave repercussions that now shake a community, a university, a state, a nation, an Olympic sport.